What a difference a night makes. Yesterday afternoon we were discussing the addition of D2 - Extreme Drought in northwestern Oklahoma. Today we know that next week's discussion will center on where to show improvements. The heavy rainfall of the last 24-hours will help ease developing drought conditions in much of the region, although northern parts of the state are still waiting for these beneficial rains.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor this week, conditions in most of northwestern Oklahoma, with the exception of the Panhandle, was downgraded to "Severe Drought" status (level 2 on the drought scale which ranges from D0 "abnormally dry" to D4 "exceptional drought"). Another area in east central Oklahoma, just north of I-40 near the Arkansas border, was increased to D1 "moderate drought". On the positive side, a large area of D0 in southern Oklahoma was removed this week, where rains had already fallen before the new analysis was published.

The developing drought conditions, while severe, pale in comparison to the effects of a long-lasting drought in South Texas or the D4 "exceptional drought" that plagued our state during 2005-2006. Fortunately, most water supplies were replenished during the intervening wet years so widespread and severe impacts have not yet been reported. With more rainfall in the forecast in the next few days, hopefully we will be able to show improvement in the remaining areas that did not receive much rain yet.

Do Your Part
If you are experiencing drought-related impacts, let us know. E-mail us at drought@mesonet.org or go online to www.drought.gov to the Drought Impact Reporter. Impacts are a critical determinant in defining drought levels on the Drought Monitor, which in turn is used by the USDA as criteria for federal assistance programs. Your reports are vital in helping us pinpoint the most severe conditions, and to avoid improving our depiction too rapidly as conditions improve.